Renault Seems Ready to Revive Alpine Brand in 2016

The French sports car company Alpine created some fantastic performance vehicles in its day and even excelled on track. For the last few years, the brand's owner, Renault, has tried with mixed success to revive the name. It still hasn't given up with the newly revealed possibility of having a model ready by next year.

Renault Executive Vice president Bruno Ancelin talked about the plans with Auto Express. "We are working on the first car, and out of the first car we are working on the line-up. So model number one, which we call the AS1 – Alpine Sport 1," he said. Ancelin described the model as a lightweight, two-seat sports car for 2016 and mentioned the possibility of adding a hybrid version in the future.

The future Alpines might not be bargains, though. Ancelin was clear to Auto Express that the models needed to be profitable, and he mentioned Audi and Porsche as possible rivals.

There have been several attempts by Renault to revive Alpine over the years – one even as far back as 2009. That latest near-miss started in 2012 when the aggressive A110-50 concept (pictured above) debuted. It was followed soon after by a partnership with Caterham on a brand rebirth. The project made it as far as test cars but eventually went bust. The latest vehicle from the company is one that only exists virtually in the form of the Renault Alpine Vision Gran Turismo.